You're currently recording and touring the US, tell us a little bit about what's been happening and where American audiences can catch you playing next?

I'm based in Chicago for the summer over here, partly to escape Melbourne winter, partly because my family is here, and partly to play some US shows while I produce the upcoming Milou Moon EP. I'm excited to be playing at Postock on August 3, which is a festival up in Wisconsin featuring some of my favourite artists from around here (Liam Kazar, Finom, Lake J), and a show in Chicago on August 26at Sleeping Village. 

Can you tell us about the production process for 'Trails to Centre' and how working with Sean Kenihan and Joe Carra influenced the final sound?

Producing ‘Trails to Centre’ was a funny process because most of it happened piece by piece in my bedroom over a few months. Then I took essentially finished tracks to Sean Kenihan to be mixed. Sean’s a friend of mine who I had wanted to work with musically for a while, but he primarily works as a producer rather than a mix engineer so he then had some cool ideas for how we could change the songs while we worked on the mixes in his studio. 

I reached out to Joe Carra to master ‘Trails to Centre’ because he happens to be mates with my guitarist Sam O’Neil (Sunnyside), but I also really admire his work with King Gizz/Pond/Mildlife etc. He gave the EP that extra polish to go out into the world, and I also got to sit in on part of that session and appreciate this $100,000 set of speakers he had in there! Crazy stuff.

What themes and stories are you exploring in the EP 'Trails to Centre,' and how did these ideas shape the writing process?

I wrote a lot of the EP during various COVID lockdowns in Melbourne so both The Murray and Drawn In were written from places of yearning for nature as a refuge and as an expression of freedom, hence the wistful melodies. They came from a longing for a sense of expansiveness during a time of deep contraction. 

On Reflection and Spin Cycle are both riffing off of a couple tumultuous/toxic/fun/loose relationships I’ve been in. On Reflection is a more raw expression of anger and hurt as I reflected on patterns I engaged in and the shitty behaviours of past partners. Spin Cycle reflects on events long after I processed them and takes a more playful approach to a past relationship which was an important part of processing that time for me

How does living between Melbourne (Naarm) and Chicago influence your music, and can you share any specific experiences from both cities that have shaped your sound?

Moving around between two homes keeps me on my toes both emotionally and creatively, always creating new opportunities to start fresh and create change in my life. Things don’t get stale very easily with this lifestyle and I’m endlessly grateful for that because I’m someone that can get restless pretty easily. 

It also creates a beautiful blend of musical influences. Being back in Chicago connects me to my classic rock/jazz/garage roots while Melbourne harbours this psychedelic/electronic/groove influence for me. I’m drawing on a combination of those influences in this next EP, including my French roots with a couple tracks in French on the EP.  

Within your circle of musical friends, can you highlight two artists you believe are on the cusp of achieving great things and explain what sets them apart?

Harmony Byrne has been a friend of mine since my early days in Melbourne in 2017 and has always been such an impressive powerhouse of a muso and performer. We just went on a regional tour together and it was so wicked getting to see that raw performance every night. She’s recording more new music now and it’s going to be fire, so I think the world is in for a treat. 

A friend of mine from Chicago – Cadien – has recently started up a solo project called lake j. He formerly fronted the band Twin Peaks which was a staple of my high school experience in Chicago as we were all mates and would go to wild DIY shows together. His new stuff still has that signature Twin Peaks low fi warmth but this time it’s wrapped in dreamy synth textures and softer vocals and it’s a huge vibe. We both played at Postock festival in Wisconsin a week ago which was a ridiculously wholesome musical experience. 

Sounds inspiring! what were some standout moments from these recent performances?

Going on tour a few weeks ago with Harmony was awesome – she's been a longtime friend of mine in Melbourne so it was fun just getting to hit the road together and hang. Our bands played at some iconic regional Australian venues, the Star Hotel in Yack. One of my favourite moments was playing at a lawn bowls club in NSW where we ended up getting so loose that we played a mayhem set of improvised wildness witheveryone from both bands switching instruments and I was possessed by some sort of freestyle goblin. One to remember. 

When can your Australian fans expect to see you performing live again, and do you have any special plans for your next shows in Australia?

We have a few shows across September, both down the surf coast and in Melbourne- including Tesselate-topia festival Sept 27. I'm currently working on producing our second EP so we’ll be releasing and doing a launch gig for the first single around October (excited!!). At the moment we’re in full creativity mode and it feels fkn amazing. Really excited for what we have in the pipeline :)